Charter of the Global Alliance and Treaty Organization
This is the charter of the Global Alliance and Treaty Organization, adopted on February 19, 2007 and last amended on May 5th, 2015. Charter of the Global Alliance and Treaty Organization Strength in Unity, Honour in Justice. Cyber Nations' First Alliance. 'Preamble' We, the members of the Global Alliance and Treaty Organization, hereby create this document to ensure the protection of the rights and freedoms of the sovereign nations of our Organization, a formal Brown Team alliance that embraces and supports world peace. We join together in the spirit of friendship in order to provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and sustain the bonds of justice which unite us all. 'Article I. General Membership and Assembly' Section 1: Membership * Application to the Global Alliance and Treaty Organization shall be determined by the Assembly Chairman or appointed cabinet official. * The Assembly Chairman or appointed cabinet official may reject any application prior to approval. * Upon approval of an application by the Assembly Chairman or an appointed cabinet official the approved applicant begins a Ninety-Six (96) hour probationary status, during which the Assembly Chairman or appointed cabinet official may veto the applicant's approval and remove the applicant's membership status * During the Ninety-Six (96) hour probationary status the approved applicant is provided all protections and provisions offered to members of Global Alliance and Treaty Organization. * Membership in the Alliance is exclusive, and all Members are Members of the General Assembly. * All Members are bound by this Charter and Laws of the Alliance. Section 2: Authority * The General Assembly shall hold all debates publicly. * The General Assembly reserves the right to vote on all Elections, Confirmation Votes, Votes of No Confidence, Charter amendments, Treaties, War & Peace Votes, Laws, and Pardon Recommendations. No member shall have this right abrogated except with the authority of the High Court. * Any Member may call for a vote at any time after forty-eight (48) hours of debate has been conducted. Elections shall be excluded from this provision. * Votes shall be held via polls which must be open to the General Assembly for exactly forty-eight (48) hours. Votes on Charter Amendments, Laws, and Pardon Recommendations shall be held mid month and at the end of the calendar month. * Charter amendments, Votes of No Confidence and Pardons shall be passed by a two-thirds (2/3) majority of votes cast. All other Votes shall be passed by a simple majority. * All rights, powers, and liberties not delegated to the Government shall be reserved for the General Assembly. 'Article II. Elections' * The General Assembly shall elect the Assembly Chairman and three High Court Justices. * Only Members of the Alliance may hold elected positions. * The Assembly Chairman will serve a three month term. Elections for Assembly chairman will be held at the end of each term. * High Court Justices will be elected every six (6) months. Elections will occur in June and December, for the Terms starting in January and July. All three positions will be up for election. * Each member of the alliance will be given three (3) votes in each High Court election which may be distributed as desired amongst the candidates. Section 1: Process: * The electoral process shall consist of nominations, debate, and voting. * Nominations will open five days prior to the end of the term and shall go for forty-eight (48) hours. * Debates shall begin with nominations and continue until the end of voting. * Forty-eight (48) hours prior to the end of the term, polling will begin and shall last for a period of forty-eight (48) hours. * At the end of the voting period, the candidate(s) with the highest vote count in each election shall be declared the winner(s) and shall take office at the beginning of the next term. * In the event of a tie vote in any election, all candidates tied shall participate in a 24 hour runoff election. If any runoff election ends in a tie, the current Assembly Chairman shall pick the winner. Section 2: Restrictions: * No Member may be elected to the position of Assembly Chairman for more than four (4) consecutive terms. * The Assembly Chairman and High Court shall not be eligible to hold any other elected position, or an appointed cabinet position. * A Member may only accept one nomination or present one self nomination per election period. Section 3: Vacancies: * An elected office shall be considered vacant on deletion, resignation, inactivity, vote of no confidence, expulsion, failure to login to the forum for a period of four days without a valid reason, or seven or more consecutive days. * In the event of a vacancy in any elected office other than the Assembly Chairman, the Assembly Chairman shall immediately appoint a successor to that office other than himself. * The Assembly Chairman will name a single successor to become Assembly Chairman if the Assembly Chairman position is declared vacant under these articles. * The successor shall take office immediately upon declared vacancy and will serve the remainder of the previous holder's term or until a failed confirmation vote. * The General Assembly shall hold a Confirmation vote within 48 hours of the appointment. If the confirmation vote fails an emergency 48 hour election will be held, 24 hours nominations/24 hours vote, to determine the next Assembly Chairman. 'Article III. Government' Section 1: Assembly Chairman: * The Assembly Chairman is the head of state and government. He shall preside over the General Assembly, may appoint a cabinet of members to administrative roles, represent the Global Alliance and Treaty Organization domestically and abroad, and serve in the best interests of the organization as the chief government representative of the people. * The Assembly Chairman may appoint Senate-eligible alliance members as exclusive candidates, who if elected shall serve at the pleasure of the Assembly Chairman. * The Assembly Chairman may veto any Law passed by the General Assembly within three (3) days of its passage. The General Assembly may override a veto by a three-fourths (3/4) majority vote within (3) days of its veto. Section 2: Cabinet Members: * The Assembly chairman may appoint any member in good standing to administer vital functions within the alliance. * To ensure the safety, prosperity, and global image of the Global Alliance and Treaty Organization the Assembly Chairman must appoint one cabinet member in charge of defense and military, one cabinet member in charge of domestic affairs, and one cabinet member in charge of foreign affairs. * The Assembly Chairman reserves the right to appoint any additional cabinet members as he sees fit. * The Assembly Chairman will be responsible for outlining each Cabinet Member's duties at the time of appointment. * The General Assembly reserves the right to confirm each Cabinet appointment with a 48 hour vote. Confirmation is received by a simple majority. In the event of a failed confirmation the Assembly Chairman must select a new cabinet appointee who will also need to be confirmed. 'Article IV. Votes of No Confidence' * Any Member of the General Assembly may call a vote of no confidence on any elected or appointed official. * Should a Member of the General Assembly call a vote of no confidence, he should present all evidence of wrong doing of the official(s) in question to start debate. * A Vote of No Confidence may be called after 48 hours of debate by the originating Member of the General Assembly or by three (3) other Members of the General Assembly. * The Assembly Chairman shall create a special forty-eight (48) hour polling session within twenty-four (24) hours of the Member(s) of the General Assembly request for a Vote of No Confidence. * If a Vote succeeds the Elected or Appointed Official shall be removed from the position for the remainder of the term. Standard Vacancy Procedures shall be followed in regard to elected positions. The Assembly Chairman may choose to appoint a new cabinet member to replace one that was removed. 'Article V. War' Section I. Formally Declared War * If a request for declaration of war is made by the Assembly Chairman, or their chosen representative, they shall present all facts to the General Assembly for a 24 hour review. * The General Assembly shall vote in an emergency, twenty-four (24) hour poll whether to authorize a declaration of war. * The General Assembly may make restrictions on the authorization as it finds appropriate. * If the General Assembly authorizes a declaration of war, the Assembly Chairman may declare war at any time authorized upon any entity authorized. * Any peace, and any terms and conditions of peace shall be presented to General Assembly for approval via a similar twenty-four (24) hour poll. Section II. Other Military Action * The Assembly Chairman or appointed cabinet member in charge of military and defense may authorize military action against any non-member or non-allied nation that conducts or supports military action against any other nation. The Assembly Chairman may order the cessation of any military action conducted under this subsection. * Members may engage in military combat with any non-member, non-allied, and non-protected nation at their own risk. Any member doing so forfeits the protections of the Global Alliance and Treaty Organization. * The Assembly Chairman or the cabinet member in charge of defense and military may authorize military action against member nations to fulfill lawfully-imposed court sentences, in direct response to unauthorized attacks on GATO or her allies, or to prevent the loss of assets of the Global Alliance. * In the event of an attack against any Member of the Alliance, the Assembly Chairman or cabinet member in charge of military and defense shall authorize attacks to defend the Member Nation. 'Article VI. High Court' Section 1: Authority: * The High Court shall judge all civil and criminal cases and shall consist of three elected individuals serving in an independent, adjudicating role. * The judicial power of the alliance is vested under this one High Court. * The High Court will convene after a grievance and substantial evidence has been presented by one member against another. * The High Court may reject to hear any case upon majority decision. Such a rejection shall not prohibit similar charges being brought in the future against the accused. * The High Court may dismiss any case with prejudice. * The High Court will hear testimony and review evidence at its discretion, and thereafter deliberate in private. * The High Court shall determine whether the accused is guilty or not guilty. * If the accused is found guilty, the High Court shall be the sole authority in determination of punishment which may include expulsion. * If the accused is found not guilty, the Member will be free to go. * All High Court decisions and rulings must be made public. Section 2: Member Rights: * All defendants are innocent until proven guilty. * All defendants shall have the right to a speedy, public, and fair trial; and shall not be twice put in jeopardy for the same crime. * All Defendants shall have the right to choose individuals to represent their case at their own discretion. * Sentenced members of the alliance have the right to an appeal. * Substantial evidence of the Court's wrongful ruling must be presented to the High Court and a two-thirds (2/3) majority of High Court Justices must approve a retrial. * The appeal process will work in concordance to the rules laid out above. * Court sentencing may only reiterate a previous punishment or overrule it. * No new sentencing may be laid. No more appeals may be given to the same case after one has already been given. Section 3: Removal of a Justice: * If a High Court Justice is put on trial for any reason, the Justice will be temporarily relieved of their duties. * If a High Court Justice is removed temporarily from office, regular vacancy procedures shall be followed. * If a Justice is found guilty, they shall be removed from office for the remainder of the term, and the temporary Justice shall finish the term. * If the Justice is found not guilty, the Justice shall return to their position, and the temporary Justice shall vacate the position. Section 4: Advisories: * The High Court may issue advisory opinions regarding the interpretation of this Charter, Treaties, and laws of the alliance. * Such advisory opinions shall have the same force and effect as any other decision of the High Court. 'Article VII. Membership Expulsion and Suspension' Section 1: Expulsion: * The Assembly Chairman may immediately expel any Member without trial, if the member acts in a manner that threatens the security of the alliance during peace time or war. * The Assembly Chairman must notify the High Court. A two-thirds (2/3) majority of High Court Justices is required to overturn the expulsion, in which case the Assembly Chairman may still bring the member to trial. * Any nation having been immediately expelled without trial may petition the High Court, in person or through an appointed nation, to review the events justifying the expulsion of said member. After conducting such a review, a two-thirds (2/3) majority of High Court Justices shall be required to reinstate an expelled nation, in which case the Assembly Chairman may still bring the member to trial. Section 2: Suspension: * The Assembly Chairman may suspend the membership and limit the access of any Global Alliance and Treaty Organization member if substantial evidence of treason or sedition can be presented against that member. The Assembly Chairman must notify the High Court, and the High Court will proceed immediately to trial. Section 3: Pardons: * If a nation has been expelled from the alliance, they can not gain membership unless pardoned by the Assembly Chairman. The Assembly Chairman can only give a pardon upon recommendation of the General Assembly. * The Assembly Chairman may grant a pardon for any specific crime to any nation upon recommendation by the General Assembly. * A pardon shall remove the conviction and sentence from the nation. Any crime for which a nation is expelled from the Alliance may not be pardoned for at least fourteen days after the expulsion is ordered. 'Conclusion' Done in convention by and with the consent of the General Assembly of the Global Alliance Treaty Organization on the nineteenth of February in the year two thousand and seven. Category:Global Alliance and Treaty Organization Global Alliance and Treaty Organization